Official Blog of the John Tyler Community College Libraries

Documentary: From Place to Place

Produced by Porch Productions , From Place to Place recounts the stories of three teenagers who have “aged-out” of the foster care system. Although too young to stay in foster care, they have not yet developed the inner resources to succeed in either life or school. While legally adults they continue to need nurturing, encouragement and positive reinforcement on their way to becoming full-fledged grown-ups. Sadly, they are not getting it.

This documentary follows them over a two year period from the streets of Missoula, Montana to the halls of Congress where they describe their experiences with the gaps in the foster care system before The Senate Caucus on Foster Youth.

And what about foster youth at John Tyler Community College? Recognizing the needs of students who are no longer in foster care, the Virginia Community College System has created the Great Expectations program. At John Tyler students in Great Expectations are paired with a mentor. Mentors act as friends, life coaches, academic guides and cheerleaders to young adults who may not have anyone else to act as a sounding board or encourager. According to Vicky Muensterman, Great Expectations Coach, there are currently 16 students in the program at John Tyler, ten with mentors. All the mentors are either faculty or staff at Tyler.

Written by Suzanne

Suzanne has loved books from an early age, and remembers reading her 24 volume World Book Encyclopedia set when she ran out of novels. Now that she works in a library, she will never run out of reading material again! Suzanne is a recent MLS graduate who loves working with students and technology.

This article has 1 comments

This documentary looks really inspiring because it puts you behind the scenes of what really happens in foster homes and the affects of it. I can’t wait to see the full movie and experience the reality of foster home kids.